No. 8 Queens Upended at Home by Regis

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Queens (3-2) had a tough time getting into their offensive rhythm this afternoon falling 11-6 to Regis (1-2) at Dickson Field in cold and rainy weather conditions.

After leading the Rangers 2-1 with 20:08 to play in the first half, Queens found themselves in a hole when Regis put together a 6-0 run. At the break, the Royals trailed the Rangers 7-2.

The Rangers dominated draw controls in the first half, 7-3, and outshot Queens 25-5.

In the second, Regis picked up where they left off putting two in the back of the net in the first two minutes of action. Another goal at 25:49 put them ahead of Queens, 10-2.

The Royals' Kelly Dowd possessed Queens' first draw control of the half at 25:49 following a timeout by Queens head coach Julika Blankenship. The offensive possession would result in Queens' first score of the half at 25:08 from Aarika Kaester. Queens then turned up the defensive pressure holding the Rangers scoreless over the next 15 minutes of action. However, the Royals still were not able to find their offensive rhythm scoring just twice during that time period.

With less than 10 minutes left in regulation, Regis held a 10-5 lead over the Royals and if Queens was going to make a push for the win they needed to put points on the board fast.

Following a goal from Regis' Erin Todd that ended the Rangers' scoring drought at 7:53, Queens' Jena Ready put the ball in the net for her second goal of the game. Unfortunately, Ready's goal would be the last goal of the game as the Rangers used their possessions to run time off the clock and the weather conditions continued to hinder the Royals offense.

Queens improved at the draw in the second half, possessing four of the nine in the half. The Royals also won the battle for ground balls, 11-8 in the second half though they were edged in the game, 21-16. Queens outshot the Rangers 16-9 in the second half.

Ready led Queens with two goals. Danielle Horoschak took her second loss of the season in goal after totaling 15 saves.

The Rangers were led by Maribel Gallegos, Erin Steiner, Emily Behr and Emily Elkins who netted two goals apiece. Gianna Lombardi took the win in the cage after collecting eight stops.

The Royals moved up to No. 8 in the national rankings released today. They are currently tied with Rollins in the eighth place spot.

Queens opens up South Atlantic Conference play at Coker on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.